Hip-hop anonymous - a PAO journal

My absence has been noted. Which is enough to guilt me into taking the extra minutes out of my day to report on my status. On May 12, I had a follow-up appointment with my surgeon, Dr. Mayo. Two new sets of X-rays (and who knows how much radiation) later, I got two thumbs up for pelvic bone healing. As far as the other issues I'm having, I didn't get any concrete answers. Dr. Mayo was very clear, however in saying -- as he has in the past -- that I will never have completely pain free hips. I've learned to accept that fact, mostly because experience has proven he's right. This is what we talked about: Right hip burning in the "Captain Morgan" position. No progress has been made here, and Dr. Mayo said the culprit likely was the iliopsoas (ill-e-o-so-az) and the rectus femoris (one of the quad muscles). He put me on Celebrex for a month, with no change. Next step would be an injection into the muscle, but I'm not ready for that yet. Tailbone. T...

Today I made my appointment with my Denver doc for my 6-month follow-up appointment. On Oct. 16, Dr. Thomas will take some new films and report back to Dr. Mayo. I was a bit cautious about scheduling the second PAO so close to my 6-month follow-up, considering I've been having a few issues. But I talked to Dr. Mayo last week over the phone and he's confident that the left hip is just fine and will hold up okay while I go through the recovery with the right hip. I'm sure I'll feel just as confident once those X-rays are shipped to Tacoma and Dr. Mayo can make extra sure everything has healed as it should.

I can't believe how well I'm doing. On Day 11, I can: Walk up to 50 feet at a time before I get too tired Get in and out of chairs/wheelchairs by myself and sit in almost any chair Get dressed by myself by using my grabber to pull up my pants. Mom still has to help with my socks and shoes, though. Use the restroom by myself Shave both my legs by sitting on the shower bench! Stand confidently at the sink long enough to wash my face, brush my teeth and put a little make-up on. Get in and out of a pick-up and ride comfortably for a couple of hours I made two trips to Billings (an hour's drive each way) in the past two days to see my grandma in the hospital. We used a wheelchair to get me around the hospital and my crutches for the rest. Last night we even stopped at a restaurant for dinner, and I just sat in my wheelchair. It was so nice to get out! The day was a little tiring, but not as bad as I would have thought. I had only a little pain, and that was only when my oxyconti...